Edit Points: Curved and Straight Line Segments in
PowerPoint 2013

Learn what the Curved and Straight line segments are within PowerPoint 2013.

Author:Geetesh Bajaj

Product/Version: Microsoft PowerPoint 2013OS: Windows 7 and 8

Date Created: April 11th 2014Last Updated: April 11th 2014

A line (outline) in PowerPoint contains both points and segments -- think about connect-the-dots as an
analogy and the dots will represent points. The segments on the other hand will represent the lines you
draw between the dots. Among points and segments, we have already explored the
types of points in PowerPoint 2013.
We now explore the two types of Segments in
PowerPoint 2013: Straight and
Curved. Segments can be edited and you can also convert a straight segment to a curved
segment and vice versa, as you will learn in this tutorial.

Identify Segment Type

But first let us show you how you can identify which type of segment you are starting with -- it's easy
to identify a segment type:

Select a shape -- we
selected the Rectangles shown in Figure 1. Switch to
Edit Points mode (right-click
the shape and choose the Edit Points option from the context menu).

Figure 1: A Rectangle in Edit Points mode

Now place the cursor on top of the outline of the shape - the cursor will change to a rectangle with
a plus sign, as shown highlighted in green within Figure 2.

Figure 2: Cursor placed over the outline

Now, right-click carefully to bring up the context menu that you see in Figure 3. Within
this menu, you will find two Segment options: Straight Segment and
Curved Segment option. The option that is grayed out is the existing Segment type.

Figure 3: The Segment type is grayed out

Now that you know how you can identify which Segment type you are starting with, let us explore how you
can change one Segment type to another.

Change from Straight to Curved Segment

Follow these steps to change a Straight segment into a Curved one:

Follow steps 1 to 3 from the above section. From the contextual menu that you bring up (as shown
previously in Figure 3), choose the Curved Segment option.

This converts the Straight segment of the line into a Curved segment, as shown in Figure 4
(compare with Figure 3).

Figure 4: Straight segment changed to curved segment

Change from Curved to Straight Segment

To change a Curved Segment to a Straight Segment, follow these steps:

Select the shape which has curved segments, such as the Oval shape shown in
Figure 5. Now switch to
Edit Points mode (right-click
the shape and choose Edit Points option from the context menu).

Figure 5: An Oval in Edit Points mode

Now place the cursor on top of the outline of the shape - the cursor will change to a rectangle with
a plus sign, as shown highlighted in green within Figure 6.

Figure 6: Cursor placed over the outline (curved segment)

Now, right-click carefully to bring up the context menu, as you can see in Figure 7.
From this menu, choose the Straight Segment option.

Figure 7: Straight Segment option Selected

This converts the Curved segment of the line into a Straight segment, as shown in Figure 8
(compare with Figure 7).

Figure 8: Curved Segment changed to Straight Segment

Editing Segments

You can also click anywhere on a segment and drag it as required to change the structure of the shape.
PowerPoint automatically adds a new point (vertex) at the point you dragged the segment, as shown in
Figure 9 (compare to Figure 7).

Have your ever used keyboard shortcuts and sequences in PowerPoint? Or are you a complete keyboard aficionado? Do you want to learn about some new shortcuts? Or do you want to know if your favorite keyboard shortcuts are documented?